Moment Kim Jong-un & his pals gorge on popcorn & champagne as people ‘drop dead in streets’ in ‘worst famine in 30yrs’
THIS is the moment Kim Jong-un and his cronies gorged on popcorn and champagne as North Korea faces the worst famine in three decades.
Stockpiles of food are dwindling fast in the secretive state, and dozens of malnourished North Koreans are reportedly dropping dead on the streets every day.
The situation has rapidly deteriorated from a perfect storm of natural disasters wiping out crops, the war in Ukraine, and extreme isolation from pandemic border closures.
But as the country starves, Kim's personal access to stockpiles of food and booze appears to be unchanged.
During his grand military parade on February 8, the dictator and his pals were seen stuffing their faces with popcorn and cakes, and washing it down with shots of liquor and glasses of champagne.
A state broadcast of the event showed stacks of refreshments on offer - including piles of cheese and breadsticks, heaps of fresh fruit, and even a chocolate fountain.
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Kim and his daughter Kim Ju Ae were also seen lounging on a sofa with a selection of cakes and juice in front of them during the shameless banquet with military officials.
But Kim's lavish feast comes amid growing fears of a repeat of the devastating 1990s famine - which according to some estimates killed more than three million North Koreans.
Adding to the spiralling situation, a human rights group has warned that food being grown near the state's nuclear test could be contaminated.
In a rare move, the government is holding a major meeting over the next few days to discuss the state's disastrous agricultural problems.
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Usually the top leaders only meet once or twice a year.
Michael Madden, director and founder of NK , warned North Korea's food security situation has "hit levels previously seen in the 1990s".
"North Korea is getting close to an environment similar to the Arduous March," he told The Sun Online.
"Some assessments have said the country is already there. It is somewhat probable that North Korea might once again face a similar situation as in the 1990s.
"Usually the Central Committee meets once or twice a year, so this meeting at the end of February is notable - and shows that food insecurity represents an acute problem to the political leadership."
The US-based 38 North programme, which monitors North Korea, warned "food availability has likely fallen below the bare minimum with regard to human needs".
It said price data shows food insecurity is at its worst since the famine of the 1990s.
And South Korea's DongA Ibo newspaper claimed North Korea has now cut rations to its soldiers for the first time in more than two decades as the crisis worsens.
Although Madden estimates the number of deaths would be much lower than the scale of the Arduous March, he warned tens of thousands of North Koreans could still die.
"I'd estimate deaths in the tens of thousands at the most," he said.
"What we need to be more concerned with are chronic and longer-term effects of malnutrition.
"These issues can contribute to problems in North Korea's future work force and military as people's bodies are compromised or broken because of malnutrition."
As a catastrophic famine looms, Madden said North Korean families often only eat one or two meals each day to avoid "the rampant and severe starvation that happened".
"The regime stockpiles food and mobilises North Koreans working and living abroad to make bulk food purchases," he said.
"North Korean families and households limit the amount of food they consume at meal times - and some will simply consume one or two meals a day to make their supplies last."
According to local reports, "dozens of people a day" are dying of starvation on the streets in the city of Kaesong, while some are taking their own lives.
It is somewhat probable that North Korea might once again face a similar situation as in the 1990s
Michael Madden
A government official told media: "Even though North Koreans are suffering from a food shortage comparable to the 'Arduous March', Kim Jong-un does not seem to have any will to change his policy to find a solution."
Lucas Rengifo-Keller, a researcher at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said North Korea is "teetering on the brink of potentially mass starvation".
"With a population that is already chronically malnourished, it won’t take much to reach a level where you have broad mass starvation," he told .
And Kwon Tae-jin, an expert on North Korean agriculture and adviser to the South Korean government, warned the food situation is the worst it’s been in years.
"Last year’s crop production was not good and the government’s stocks are running out," he said.
“And while there could be unofficial rice imports from China, the fact that prices are unstable suggests that those unofficial imports are also insufficient."
As the situation worsens, Edward Howell told The Sun Online many will question Kim Jong-un's decision to ramp up military spending as his nation faces a dire food crisis.
"There will likely be popular questioning – which is not new – of the sheer cost of the DPRK’s nuclear programme compared to the situation on the ground," he said.
And North Korean analyst Madden said a rampant famine "would certainly downgrade" Kim Jong-un's "prestige among the North Korean population".
"The veneration of the leader and Kim Family would become less prominent,"; he said.
"But food insecurity is unlikely to topple the regime itself or compel structural changes to the political system.
"If it didn't change during the 1990s, then it is not going to change now."
Madden said North Korea now "needs a combination of large food donations from foreign countries and NGOs to bring the population to a nutritional baseline".
Adding to the dire situation, The Transitional Justice Working Group has warned that those living near the Punggye-ri nuclear test site could be eating food contaminated with radiation.
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In some cases, defectors who have fled to South Korea from the region were found to have chromosome abnormalities and high levels of radiation.
The human rights group is calling for improved inspection of farm and sea products from the area.
